This invention relates to method and apparatus for the conversion of heat energy into mechanical energy and more particularly to an engine and method which will accomplish this in a continuous manner.
Prior methods and devices have been devised for converting heat energy into mechanical energy in which a liquid is heated until it vaporizes, with the vapor then being directed against the blades of a turbine rotor to produce useful work. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,648. A substantial amount of available work energy is lost or not utilized to produce power output in this type of system. The velocity of the vaporized gases must usually be increased by means of a nozzle which directs the high velocity gases againts the rotor of the turbine. This type of system results in only a small proportion of the energy available in the gases being utilized to cause useful work.
Also, once the gases leave the nozzle they tend to expand rapidly and lose a substantial portion of their velocity a very short distance from the nozzle. Thus, the use of gases as the transfer agent from the heat energy to the mechanical output, is inherently less efficient than a system such as would utilize the principle of a water wheel or a solid mass of liquid propelled against the tubine rotor blades. On the other hand, the use of a system where a liquid is vaporized is inherently desirable as a medium for transforming heat energy into mechanical energy due to the natural expansion or pressure created by the heat input to the liquid causing it to vaporize.